"This is the 15th successful landing of a Falcon 9", said Lauren Lyons, the SpaceX webcast launch commentator.

The launch of the FORMOSAT-5 satellite was SpaceX's 12th orbital launch of the year. Eastern, at the beginning of a 42-minute launch window.

The rocket took off from SpaceX's launch facility 4E at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base as planned, carrying the NSPO's FORMOSAT-5 satellite to orbit, where it was deployed successfully.

The main payload of Formosat-5 is an optical "Remote Sensing Instrument", which will provide 6.5-foot (2 meters) resolution for black-and-white images and 13-foot (4 m) resolution for multi-spectral color images, SpaceX representatives wrote in a mission overview. The change in launch vehicles and delays in SpaceX's launch schedules, including those caused by two Falcon 9 failures in 2015 and 2016, significantly delayed the launch.

SpaceX previously planned to fly a secondary payload, the Sherpa bus from Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries, which would have deployed almost 90 small satellites after separating from the Falcon 9 upper stage.

Today's launch also included a rocket recovery attempt for the Falcon 9's first-stage booster.

Vandenberg's next Falcon 9 rocket reportedly is targeting September 30, with another 10 Iridium Next communication satellites ready to head to space.

Latest news

More gold medals for Vietnam in cycling, shooting
Schooling, blowing hard after his race, said he was feeling the pace halfway through the meet, with three gold medals in the bag. Malaysia's Tia'a Faang Der was the runner-up in 2:01.04, while Thailand's Navaphat Wongcharoen came third in 2:01.06.